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MINNEAPOLIS, MN, April 6, 2000 - Ciprico Inc. (NASDAQ: CPCI), a leading innovator and provider of digital storage solutions for visual imaging applications, announced a partnership with SGI China in providing a full SAN (storage area network) configuration at the China Research Institute of Film Science and Technology in Beijing. The entire SAN configuration was provided by Ciprico and included the new FibreSTORE RAID digital storage, along with switches, adapters and software. Installation was accomplished by SGI China, and any subsequent maintenance of the SAN configuration will be handled by them as well.
The institute had found it a challenge to move image files efficiently between workgroups through the various stages of digital video and film production. To improve their workflow, they researched central storage systems that could be shared among their SGI Onyx 2, Octane and Origin 200 host computers, and then turned to Ciprico and SGI China for a Fibre Channel SAN (storage area network) solution. Compared with traditional file sharing and networking solutions, Ciprico's SAN configurations offer heterogenous file sharing and are notably more efficient for digital film workflow. Production time is reduced because the SAN eliminates the need for the majority of file transfers, which can be slow because of their size. The high-speed central storage system also offers scalability for future system expansions.
"We are pleased to be working closely with SGI China on this project, and we know the China Film Institute will be pleased with the results," said Paul Tsuchiya, Ciprico director of professional services. "Ciprico continues to be a preferred source for SGI customers because we offer products and SAN configurations that maximize performance in that environment."
"Many of our SGI customers in the oil and gas, entertainment, government and scientific imaging, data warehousing, pharmaceutical and media industries are experiencing a rapid escalation in their need to store and share large amounts of data. More and more of these customers are turning to SAN solutions," said Edwin Lo, Managing Director, SGI Greater China. "Our cooperative relationship with Ciprico has allowed us to further develop our professional services for enterprise-wide SAN solutions. Our customers can be confident that SGI China and their partners are providing the best, total SAN solutions in China."
Ciprico storage products are known to visual imaging professionals for their reliability and performance. The heart of Ciprico's SAN solutions are high-performance RAID or JBOD Fibre Channel storage systems selected from Ciprico's well-known 7000 Series or from the new FibreSTORE Family of Storage Systems. The China Film Institute chose Ciprico's FibreSTORE RAID Storage System for their SAN because of its flexible, high-capacity, fault-tolerant storage. FibreSTORE's end-to-end Fibre Channel architecture also provided the full-speed Fibre Channel performance they needed.
The future of digital film production in China
In an effort to keep China's film industry in line with global trends, China's State Film Bureau plans is investing heavily in a digital movie production company and digital film production. The new digital production company will be based at the Digital Film Studio under the China Research Institute of Film Science and Technology which, since 1995, has shouldered the task of developing China's digital production and has produced special effects for several domestic movies, including Be There Or Be Square and Roaring Across the Horizon.
About SGI
SGI is a market leader in technical computing, offering the worldÕs most powerful servers, supercomputers and visual workstations. SGI uniquely provides a broad range of high-performance computing and advanced graphics solutions that enable customers to understand and conquer their toughest computing problems. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with offices worldwide, the company is located on the web at http://www.sgi.com.
About Ciprico
Ciprico designs, manufactures and markets high-performance, direct-attached and networked storage solutions, including intelligent hardware, software and professional services. Ciprico storage solutions are designed for visual computing applications ranging from high-speed data capture, through processing and analysis, to real-time playback at sustained performance levels. Ciprico is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. More information about Ciprico is available on the World Wide Web at www.ciprico.com.
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